Arch support



July 15, 1924. 1,501,607

F. s. Ll-:wls

ARCH SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed' Jan. 4, 1922 July 15 1924. 1,501,607

F. S. LEWIS ARCH SUPPORT Filed Jan. 4, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 attorney' Patented July 15, 1924.

UNITED STATES FRANK S. LEWIS, 0F DENVER, COLORADO.

ARCH SUPPORT.

Application filed January 4, 1922. SerialNo. 526,923.

T0 @ZZ 107mml it may concern.'

Be it known that FRANK S. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, has invented new and useful Improvements in Arch Supports, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple and eiiicient footarch support for remedying or relieving broken down or flattened foot arches and particularly to provide a device of this type wherein adjustment may be made to adapt the device to different conditions of the foot and varying degrees of development of the disability involved; and with these objectsl in view the invention consists in a construction and combination of parts of which a preferred embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view of the support in its normal position with the containing shoe indicated in dotted lines with reference thereto.

Figure 2 is an inverted plan view of the support.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same with the parts in the normal position. l

Figure 4 is a similar view with the arch depressed to the limit of movement permitted by the restraining element.

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view.

Figure 6 is a detail view of the transverse plate.

Figure 7 is a detail section on the plane indicated by the line 7 7 of Figure 2 to show the means of attachment of the heel corrector.

Figure 8 is a detail view detached of the metatarsal corrector.

Figures 9 and 10 are detail views of modi-l fied forms of limiting or retaining strips or members. i

The shell or body portion 10 of the support is of transversely concaved and longitudinally arched form atfordin heel and toe bearing portions 11 and 12, an arranged in contact with the under surface thereof 1s a transverse reinforcing late 14 having upturned terminals of whic that at the outer side of the foot is referably bifurcated to form tongues 15. his transverse contracting member which is of spring .metal permitting it to yield to allow a limited lateral spreading ofthe foot while affording a substantial resistance thereto, .is carried by a main or arch spring plate 16 disposed longitudinally of the shell or body member, being terminally' attached thereto by rivets 17 and being arched in form to reinforce the shell which though of relatively stiff leather is adapted to yield or flatten to a certain extent. In order to limit the extent of attening of the main spring plate and hence of the shell under the weight of the wearer. while permitting a suiiicient yielding of the same to cushion the foot there is employed a retaining or limiting member 18 terminally connected with headed studs 19 on the under side of the plate and serving, when the plate reaches the prescribed limit of iiexion to assume a position of a chord of the segment described by the spring plate and thus prevent further flattening of the latter. The permissible or tensionable limit of fiexure of the arch 16 varies in different cases or with different patients and therefore in order to permit of an adjustment adapting the amount of flattening movement to be varied as required, the limitin or retainer member 18 may be replace by another of a different length or as preferred and as indicated in Fig. 9 may be of triangular form provided adjacent the shorter base of the trlangle with a transverse series of keyhole slots 2O of which each succeeding one is slightly closer the-adjacent end than the next succeeding so as to dispse these slots at different distances from a similar keyhole slot 21 at the apex of the triangle.v

The slots 20 are obviously selectively engageable with the adjacent stud 19 to suit the desired purpose. limiting member isillustrated in Figure 10, this being provided with heart-shaped openings 20' and 21EL at opposite ends, the branch recesses 20b and 20 of the openin 20 being at different distances from the adjacent extremity of the member, while the branch recesses of the opening 21a are thevsame distance from the adjacent extremity of the A modified form of transverse plate may be adjusted longitudinally of the shell and hence of the foot of the wearer to accommodate long and short heels and alord the proper support and protection for the cuboid on the outside and the scaphoid on the inside of the foot it is slotted as indicated at 23, longitudinally of the support to permit of forward and rearward movement or adjustment.

At the heel end oit the shell there is provided a heel corrector consisting of a pad 24 interposed between inner and outer or upper and lower leaves 25 and 26 of the shell and secured by a rivet 27, while at the toe portion of' the shell there is employed a metatarsal corrector consisting of a pad 28 secured by rivets 29. It will be obviousl that di'erent thicknesses of pads may be used in either of these relations to wit for heel and metatarsal correctionv or the removal thereof may be eected when such correction is unnecessary. i

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and vuseful is l. A :toot arch support having a shell provided vvith longitudinal and transverse neogeo? spring plates of which the former is upwardly arched to reinforce the shell and the latter terminally' upturned to protect the cuboid and scaphoid of the foot., the transverse member having a floating connection with the longitudinal member for adjustment longitudinally of the shell..

2. A foot arch support having a shell of limited yielding properties provided with a longitudinally disposed arch spring plate provided on the under-surface with spaced studs, and a triangularly shaped retaining element formed with a keyhole slot adjacent the apex for engagement with one of said studs, and a plurality of keyhole slots disposed adjacent the shorter base and arranged in a series in the direction of the length of said shorter base, each slot of said series being a greater distance from the shorter base` than the preceding slot for selective engagement with the remaining stud to vary the limit of flexion of the plate.

ln testimony whereof he aixes his signature.

FRANK S. LEWlS. 

